Biodiversity and Conservation of Orchids in Songshan National Nature Reserve,Beijing

Orchidaceae is one of the most species-rich families in the world. The biodiversity of Chinese orchids has earned much attention due to the complex geographic environment and climate type in China. Due to uneven distribution of orchid resources,most field surveys and studies have been carried out in the Yangtze River Basin and regions to its south. The biodiversity of orchids in North China has largely been ignored. To protect orchid species,we conducted floristic study and conservation analysis in Songshan National Nature Reserve,Beijing. In total,18 species in 12 genera were recorded. One species (Galearis roborowskyi) was recorded for the first time in Beijing. For life form,terrestrial orchids were dominant with 14 species (77.78%),and the remaining orchids (22.22%) were saprophytic. For floristic types of genera,North Temperate was dominant with six genera (50.00%),followed by Old World Temperate with three genera (25.00%),Cosmopolitan with two genera (16.67%),and Old World Tropics with one genus (8.33%). For floristic types of species,East Asia was dominant with nine species (50.00%),followed by Old World Temperate with five species (27.78%),and North Temperate with four species (22.22%). The orchids usually grew under deciduous broadleaf mixed forest in north ravine and Mini-haituo Mountain. Considering the conservation status,we suggest habitat assessment,inspection for orchid population dynamics,ex situ preservation for orchids in urgent danger and scientific propaganda are the strategies to conserve biodiversity in Songshan National Nature Reserve.